Transilluminator light shield

ABSTRACT

Transillumination uses light to image tissues and organs, specifically the veins within the tissue. Strong ambient light hinders the imaging of veins and often, transillumination must be done in a dark or dim room. To enhance the capabilities of a transilluminator, a light shield is placed over the viewing area of the transilluminator so that turning off or dimming of ambient light is not necessary. For pediatric care, a frustroconical adapter attached to the bottom of the transilluminator. The adapter reduces the size of the viewing area.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Transillumination entails shining of a light through a body cavity ororgan for diagnostic purposes. Typically, transillumination is performedin a room where the lights have been dimmed or turned off to facilitatethe viewing of the part being studied. A bright light is pointed at thecavity or organ and due to the slight translucence of the part underconsideration, some of the light passes through the part or organ. Thistest is often performed on newborns or infants with hydrocephalus ormales suspected of having hydrocele. In addition, for tests performed onbreast tissue to detect lesions and/or cysts. In newborns, the test isused to transilluminate the chest cavity if pneumothorax is suspected.Only in newborns is transillumination of the chest possible.Transillumination is painless and quickly performed with inexpensiveequipment.

Classic mode of transillumination shines light in order to see internaldetails of the object. Another form of transillumination is sidetransillumination. In side transillumination, light shines from the sideof the object to form a virtual light source below the skin. The lightsource moves with the device and allows transillumination of any part ofthe body up to a depth of about 6 mm. The side transillumination methodis described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,923.

It is beneficial to shield the area viewed during transillumination fromambient light. U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,187 (Porath) discloses atransillumination mammography device having a pair of light shieldspositioned to shield detectors from ambient light.

It is an object of the invention to provide a dome shaped light shieldfor a transillumination device.

It is another object of the invention to provide a transilluminatorproviding imaging regardless of ambient light.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a light shield fora transilluminator that is removable.

It is another object of the invention to provide a light shield for atransilluminator that is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to installon an existing transilluminator.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art after reading the disclosure of the invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Transillumination uses light to image tissues and organs, specificallythe veins within the tissue. Strong ambient light hinders the imaging ofveins and often, transillumination must be done in a dark or dim room.To enhance the capabilities of a transilluminator, a light shield isplaced over the viewing area of the transilluminator so that turning offor dimming of ambient light is not necessary. For pediatric care, afrustroconical adapter attached to the bottom of the transilluminator.The adapter reduces the size of the viewing area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top view of a transillumination device;

FIG. 2 is the side view of a transillumination device having a lightshield;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the lower shield;

FIG. 4 is a top view of the lower shield;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the upper shield;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the upper shield;

FIG. 7 is a front view of the upper and lower shields connected;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the upper and lower shields connected;

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the upper and lower shields alongline 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a transilluminator mini adapter;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the light shield mini adapter; and

FIG. 12 is a side view of the light shield mini adapter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The top view of a hand-held transilluminator 10 is seen in FIG. 1. Thefront is formed by a circular area of illumination 12 with a cut out toallow for vein access. The circular area of illumination forms a viewingarea 16. Surrounding the viewing area, on the bottom surface, is a lightsource. The device is placed over the area to be viewed and the lightprovides transillumination for viewing. FIG. 2 shows the side view of atransilluminator having a light shield 20. The light shield has a domelike projection over the top surface of the transilluminator, blockingambient light but allowing the user to still view the viewing area 16.The transillumination can also be a circular area of illuminationconnected to a housing, providing a power source, by a cable.

FIG. 3 shows the rear view of the lower light shield 22. The lower lightshield has a frustro conical sidewall 24 with a larger top edge 26.Several tabs 28 rise from the top edge for connection to the uppershield, as will be seen later. FIG. 4 is a top view of the lower lightshield and an opening 30 in the front is seen. This opening correspondsto the cut out in the circular area of illumination 12 as the edges ofthe opening 30 substantially align with the cut out 14.

FIG. 5 shows a side view of the upper light shield 32. The light shieldhas a truncated quarter hemisphere shape forming a dome like structureto block ambient light. The front view of the upper light shield is seenin FIG. 6 with the viewing aperture 34 clearly seen. The bottom edge ofthe viewing aperture substantially aligns with the top of opening 30 inthe lower light shield.

The relationship between the upper light shield in seen clearly in FIG.7, with the top edge of the opening 30 substantially aligned with thebottom edge of the viewing opening 34. The bottom edge of the upperlight shield has a flange 36 overlapping the top edge of the lowershield to maintain the two in contact. The side view of the connectedlight shield is depicted in FIG. 8. The sidewall of the lower lightshield is surrounded by the circular area of illumination with the domeof the upper shield rising above the top surface as a transilluminator,as was seen in FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 shows the cross section through line 9-9 of FIG. 8 and clearlydemonstrates the relationship between the two parts of the light shield.

A mini adapter is shown in FIG. 10. The mini adapter 40 connects to thebottom of the transilluminator. The mini adapter has a frustro conicalshape with a smaller bottom edge and serves to reduce the viewing areato a smaller diameter. Mini adapters are particularly useful inpediatric care. The mini adapter is formed by an inner sidewall 42 andouter sidewall 44 connected to one another by bridge 46.

FIG. 11 shows the front view of the mini adapter. The frustro conicalshape of the outer wall 44 is clearly seen along with the fact that theinner wall 42 has a greater height than the outer wall 44. The side viewof FIG. 12 shows the relationship between the inner and outer wall moreclearly.

While the invention has been disclosed with reference to preferredembodiments, variations and modifications would be apparent to one ofordinary skill in the art. The invention encompasses such variations andmodifications.

1. A transilluminator, comprising a housing, said housing having a topsurface and a bottom surface; a light source in said housing; a viewingarea illuminated by said light source; a light shield extending abovesaid top surface and over said viewing area.
 2. The transilluminator ofclaim 1, wherein said light shield is dome-shaped.
 3. Thetransilluminator of claim 1, further comprising a circular area ofillumination extending from said housing, said viewing area formedbetween within the circular area of illumination.
 4. Thetransilluminator of claim 3, wherein said light shield has an upper andlower section, said lower section surrounded by said circular area ofillumination, said upper section extending above said top surface. 5.The transilluminator of claim 4, wherein said upper section is domeshaped.
 6. The transilluminator of claim 4, further comprising a spaceformed in said circular area of illumination, and an opening in saidupper and lower section aligned with said space.
 7. The transilluminatorof claim 4, wherein said lower section is frustro conical.
 8. Thetransilluminator of claim 1, further comprising an adaptor dependingfrom said bottom surface, said adaptor being frustro conical.
 9. Thetransilluminator of claim 8, wherein said adaptor comprises an innerwall, an outer wall and a bridge extending between said inner and outerwall.
 10. A transilluminator, comprising a housing, said housing havinga top surface and a bottom surface; a light source in said housing; aviewing area illuminated by said light source; an adaptor depending fromsaid bottom surface, said adaptor being frustro conical.
 11. Thetransilluminator of claim 10, wherein said adaptor comprises an innerwall, an outer wall and a bridge extending between said inner and outerwall.